What to buy organic

I always try to buy organic when I can, but this is a great reminder! If you can't buy everything organic, at least aim for the things on the left.

20 superfoods for weight loss

I found this article on Self.com today, and thought it might be a good idea to keep a collection of stuff like this. So here goes!

1. Steak.

2. Eggs.

3. Kale. One raw chopped cup contains 34 calories and about 1.3 grams of fiber, as well as a hearty helping of iron and calcium.


4. Oats. Steel-cut and rolled oats have 5g of fiber per serving. 


5. Lentils. Eating lentils helps prevent insulin spikes that cause your body to produce excess fat - particularly 
belly fat. 


6. Goji berries. They contain 18 amino acids and a surprising amount of protein. 


7. Wild salmon. Lots of Omega-3 fatty acids. 


8. Apples. 


9. Buckwheat pasta. Not totally sold on this one, but I might give it a shot. 


10. Blueberries. 3.6g of fiber per cup.


11. Almond butter. Lower glycemic index than peanut butter. 


12. Pomegranate seeds. Low in calories, high in fiber. Tons of antioxidants. 


13. Chiles. Capsaicin boosts your metabolism for ~20 minutes after eating. 


14. Yogurt. Keeps blood sugar levels steady. 


15. Quinoa. Lots of fiber and protein. 


16. Sardines. Not totally sold on this one either. 


17. Tarragon. 


18. Parmesan. Women who eat one serving of whole milk cheese per day are less likely to gain weight. 


19. Avocado. Monounsaturated fat makes you satiated.

20. Olive oil. Same deal as the avocado. It's also an anti-inflammatory.

Food diary 09 Oct

Breakfast!
2 servings Cream of Wheat (240 calories)
<1 Tbsp honey (60 calories)

Snack time!
approx. 2 servings cashews (320 calories)
1 no-bake cookie (~200 calories)

Late afternoon snack time:
approx. 4 servings marinated artichoke hearts (100 calories)
another no-bake cookie (oops! 200 calories)

Dinner:
Chicken parm lean pocket (270 calories)
one last no-bake cookie (a small one. 150 calories)

Late-night snack:
a handful of teddy grahms (130 calories)


I drank 64+ ounces of ice water today. For exercise, I opted not to go to the gym since I didn't really have time, but I have my computer up on the bar, and I marched in place while standing in front of it for a portion of the day.

Looks like it was a ~1700 calorie day. Not too shabby! Better than the last few, certainly.

I need to get the bikini body back. I applied today for a waitressing position that will definitely help pad my bank account... but I have to look good to get it.

I'm off to do more homework. The goal for tomorrow is a 2-mile walk, and to do Marco's yoga CD.

Ciao!

Saturday's food diary

Breakfast:
Cinnamon Life cereal with soy milk. Again, got super nauseous and could hardly eat any of it. (~200 calories)

Lunch:
A good portion of the rest of my beer chili. (Unknown calorie count. Guesstimating 500 calories.)

Snack:
~3 servings of cashews. (480 calories)
7 small slices of cheese (guesstimating 250 calories)
3 no-bake cookies (~600 calories. oops.)

I didn't really eat dinner. I have a really late lunch (about 3PM) and then snacked when I got off work at 7, so there wasn't really a need.

Looks like it's another 2000-2100 calorie day. I know I burned some extras doing house work today, and drinking lots of ice water, but I didn't fit in any exercise today.

My goal tomorrow is a 2-mile walk/run and a 5-mile bike ride. We'll see if I can do it / find the time!

I really suck at updating.

Today, 10/07:

Breakfast:
oats & honey granola with soy milk. I hardly ate any of it - I would say less than half a cup, but since that's the serving size, that's what I'll go with. (250 calories)

Lunch:
3 eggs (300 calories)
< 1/3 c. cheese (but that's a serving size, so I'll go with it. 110 calories)
tortilla (140 calories)
~ 2 Tbsp. greek yogurt (15 calories)
1 no-bake cookie (unknown. I'll go with 200 calories to be safe.)

Vitamin! Folic acid / B complex

Exercise:
1 mile walk/run
2 mile bike
~130 calories burned

Dinner:
homemade beer chili (no clue. Not even going to guesstimate)
approx. 3 servings cashews (480 calories)

And my amazing boss bought us shots to take in the parking lot after work today. So all in all, it's about a 2,000 calorie day. Not awesome, but not awful either.

I have hot yoga in the morning, and I'm going to try to bike some more in the evening. I've been taking photos, but I'll just update with a new one on Monday.

I'm so bad at this.

I haven't been keeping track of my meals lately, so this is all you get. 

Saturday:

Breakfast:

honey nut cheerios

skim milk

Exercise:

4 mile walk

45 minutes hot yoga

Breakfast 2:

muesli

greek yogurt

Snack:

1 piece string cheese

Vitamin!!

Dinner:

Steak

pasta salad

Snack:

granola bar

--

I've been doing quite a bit of walking lately. I walked 2.5 miles on Tuesday night. Yesterday I missed hot yoga because I had a modeling shoot. Bummer. I plan on going for another two mile walk tonight after I go to the store. 

I've continued to take my vitamins w/ folic acid, and am making an effort to get more than 64 oz. of water daily. I took a three-hour nap earlier today. I'm definitely trying to eliminate stress and be healthier!

I'll try to keep better track of what I'm eating. Dave is doing a body wrap on me on Saturday (provided it's safe!) so hopefully Monday's photo will show some progress!

Photo op Monday.

Well, here goes. I haven't lost any weight and I feel super bloated.

I also need to clean my mirror.

I'll update with my meal diary tomorrow. I'm super tired. Goodnight!

Thursday and Friday meal updates

Thursday!

Breakfast:

honey nut cheerios

fat-free milk

Lunch:

1 piece string cheese

1 organic banana

1 organic gala apple

1 peach

Snack:

approx. 1 oz. Cashews

1 Tbsp. Peanut butter

Dinner:

1 ear sweet corn

–--

Friday:

Breakfast:

honey nut cheerios

skim milk

Lunch:

1 organic avocado

1 piece string cheese

Dinner:

2 servings raspberries

2 servings marinated artichoke hearts

approx. 3 oz. cashews

I also walked for about a mile and a half on Thursday. Friday, no exercise. I'm getting up in the morning, though, for my walking group and some hot yoga. 

Goodnight!

Calorie counts for the last few days!

Sunday, 9/11

Breakfast:

2 slices french toast

1 organic black plum-berry

Snack:

¾ c. greek yogurt

1 Tbsp honey

Snack:

1 canned water thing – 90 calories

approx. 4 artichoke hearts, marinated – 108 calories

---

Monday:

Breakfast:

Cinnamon Life w/ soy milk

Snack:

Klondike bar

Dinner:

1 organic banana

1 piece string cheese

some chicken enchilada “slop”

---

Tuesday:

Breakfast:

1 serving steel cut oats

1 Tbsp honey

Snack:

1 organic banana

approx. ½ c. raspberries

1 piece string cheese

1 Tbsp. Peanut butter

approx. 1 ½ oz. cashews

Vitamins:

B-complex w/ 800 mcg folic acid

Dinner:

some chicken enchilada “slop.” It's my leftover chicken enchilada filling when I didn't have enough tortillas. Erika coined the name when I was telling her about it yesterday.

---


Wednesday:



Breakfast:
1 serving steel-cut oats
½ c. raspberries



Lunch:
… I went to the Intel/IBM HPC event at school. It was catered with a lot of delicious food. I might have had five chocolate-dipped strawberries... and a lot of other things that are bad for me.



Dinner:
1 banana
the rest of the chicken enchilada “slop.” 


I also did hot yoga. I stepped outside the room every 10 - 15 minutes to cool down and drink some water, and I modified a few poses. (No back bends, no compressions, and no tummy stuff.) Marco said he would look up some other studios in town that had different offerings, and he'll have some suggestions for me on Saturday when I go back in, as well as other modifications for my current practice. 

Photo-op Mondays.

I suppose Monday is as good a day as any, so from now on, I'm going to post photos of my progress Monday evenings.

Me tonight: 

I'm starting to see hip bones peeking out on the sides. And my legs actually look pretty skinny in that picture - I think, anyway.

Today was the first day since I've been home that I have worn pants. I wore those grey BR crops that I adore... and they fit! I didn't hang over the sides at all. I wore pants, and they were flattering. Today was an AWESOME day. Good thing, because I needed it.

Breakfast was some Cinnamon Life with soy milk.

I had a Klondike bar around 3:30.

And then I had an organic banana and a piece of 2% string cheese tonight. Pants-wearing aside, today wasn't the greatest day. Hence the lack of appetite.

I got some cauliflower and 18 oz. of raspberries at Albertsons tonight. Looking forward to mashing the cauliflower, for sure! yum, yum.

I'm baring it all.

Okay, not all, but I need something to hold myself accountable, and photos are the best motivator for me. So here goes!

My goal. This was taken February 18th. 

May 25th. Obviously heavier. 

June 12th. You can see my hip bones a little better. I think I had been working out a little more.

A week after my vacation. August 27th. 

And about a week later. (This photo isn't dated for some reason.)

I feel a lot smaller now than I look in that last photo, but I'm nowhere near the February lady I would like to be. There you go. There's nothing I'm more sensitive about than my weight and my intelligence, so this really means a lot to me! 

Trying to get back to February. 

I fail again.

So we've established that I'm really bad at this. 


Tuesday, I did Crossfit. Amazing. I love it. I'm going to do their new student three-week special as soon as I pay tuition off. 


Wednesday, I did some hot yoga. Bought a month unlimited membership since this week was the last week of their sale. Prices went up today. 


Last night, I ran for about half an hour. Today, ran for another 25 minutes and then lifted weights. I did 24 lb. presses and then curls / a few other things with 5 lb. weights. 


I haven't been tracking my eating habits very well, but I think I'm doing a pretty good job of keeping my calories down. In fact, I was just thinking today that I needed to be careful because I probably wasn't eating enough. 


So there you have it. I'm going to try harder; I promise! At least to update with my workouts. I ran for just under a mile and a half today, and plan on running again tomorrow. Hopefully I'll make it a little longer. 

I'm really bad at updating.

Friday:

Breakfast:

1 packet reduced sugar instant oatmeal

Snack:

Strawberry yogurt granola bar: 140 calories

Lunch(ish):

approx. 6 oz. artichoke heart pasta

1 ½ artichoke hearts, marinated in oil

approx. ½ oz. Feta: 35 calories

Dinner:

1 small grilled chicken breast

1 grilled chicken drumstick

approx. 2 shots Johnny Walker Blue Label

This looks like a super awesome day calorie-wise, too! It would have been even better, but when I was down at the pool, there were some Indian guys grilling and having a great time, and invited me to sit with them and have a drink, and then shared their food. Hence the alcohol and the grilled chicken.

Again, did about 45 minutes of walking, and probably 15 minutes of stretching at home.

Saturday!

Breakfast:

1 piece string cheese

snacked on some Cinnamon Life cereal (dry). Unknown amount.

Hmmm. Apparently I fail at logging for yesterday. I don't remember what I had for lunch, and dinner was a potluck so obviously that's hard to log.

I feel like I might be getting my skinny self back. I woke up yesterday morning and wasn't hungry for the first time in a long while. (My alarm went off at 5, and I didn't even eat anything until probably 10:30.) When I wake up not hungry, I am usually less likely to overeat throughout the day, so I'm pretty excited about this new development!

I also ran on the treadmill yesterday for 36 minutes. I did some stretching at home afterward, and then went crazy along with the other Brianna last night playing Dance Central (I think is what it's called? Some dance Wii game).

Sunday:

Breakfast:

1 piece string cheese: 70 calories

A few handfuls of whole-grain honey nut cheerios

granola bar (from Czech. Yikes.): 409 calories

Snack:

2 slices smoked Gouda: 140 calories

Some chocolate chips (oops!)

Sooo... It's Monday, and I'm really bad at this. Both updating the blog, and keeping track of everything here.

I bought a Groupon for a Crossfit class at the women's gym in Ahwatukee tomorrow morning at 6AM. I think I've gone certifiably insane. Even Mom said she wanted to puke after some of the workouts. Yikes.

Guess that means I should get some sleep since I'll be up at or before 5 in the morning. I'll try to do a better job of updating – at least for the next few days before I leave. Ciao!

First week down!

Yesterday was day seven! Go me!

Breakfast:

2 servings steel-cut oats

1 c. raspberries

1 Tbsp. Honey

Lunch:

6 oz. Veggie pasta

approx. 2 oz. Feta

½ Tbsp. Garlic & herb butter

Snack:

1 piece string cheese

1 serving Skittles

a few chocolate chips

Dinner:

chicken marsala(ish), courtesy of Kyle.

Exercise :

Walking (about 40 minutes)

Stretching (about 15 minutes)

Yesterday was a little weird as far as this whole exercise/diet thing goes. I did great until I came home for lunch. I was craving something sweet, and I don't really have anything sweet in the house, so I ended up eating some Skittles. They didn't satisfy my craving, so I turned to the chocolate chips I had in the freezer. I moderated myself, but eating chocolate chips from the bag still makes me feel like a piggy.

Then I took the puppies over to Josh & Miranda's for a bath, and Kyle was making dinner, so I had some of whatever it was. (I think chicken marsala.) Not worth what was I'm sure a ton of calories from the sweet wine.

All in all, I guess it was a decent day. My goal for today is to use up some of the corn I have in the fridge! I love corn on the cob (especially grilled!) and have six ears to eat before they go bad.

Yum! Raspberries! Day six.

I forgot to mention my raspberries last night! I got three pounds of raspberries at the store and had some for an evening snack. Delish!

Breakfast:

2 serving steel-cut oats

1 c. raspberries

1 Tbsp honey

Lunch:

1 yellow squash

1 yellow pepper

2 small zucchini

balsamic vinegar

approx. 2 oz. Feta: 140 calories

Snack:

2 slices cinnamon toast

apple butter

1 granola bar: 90 calories

2 sticks of string cheese (2 percent milk): 140 calories

I also did an hour of hot yoga earlier. 

I haven't eaten dinner yet, and since it's 11:45, I don't imagine I will. Looks like I'm under 2000 calories for today as well! 

I think I'm going to start running again tomorrow. Run tomorrow, run Friday, and then Saturday I have my first Meetup with the Ahwatukee walkers! Fun, fun. 

Day five

Breakfast:

2 packets Kroger reduced sugar instant oatmeal

1 ½ servings Cinnamon Life cereal

½ c. nonfat milk

Lunch:

1 homemade quesadilla

Snack:

1 no-bake cookie

Dinner:

4 oz. Veggie pasta

approx. 2 oz. Feta

½ Tbsp. Garlic & herb butter

Snack:

1 serving Starbursts = 160 calories

It's almost 8 and I'm still pretty stuffed. I don't foresee myself eating anything else tonight. It looks like today was probably right around 1800 calories. MUCH better than it has been. I also did about an hour of stretching / yoga at the house earlier.

Side note! I was able to go into both standing bow and the one where you hold your foot and straighten your leg out in front of you... don't know the name of it. Anyway, I was able to go into both of them completely for the first time yesterday! Super excited about that.

Off to hit the grindstone! O-Chem homework is due tonight. Ciao! 

Day four.

I also didn't update last night, as I did what was quite possibly the best thing I've done for myself in a long time.

I went to bed at 8:30. Initially I had intended on taking a one-hour nap, and even set three alarms, but didn't wake up until 1AM, and then decided to sleep until 5:30. I ended up getting up at 6 this morning. Amazing.

So here it is! Yesterday's log. 

Breakfast:

2 packets peach instant oatmeal (Czech, Albert brand. I tossed the box, so I have no clue what the calorie content is.)

Snack:

2 small pieces cherry crumble: ~200 calories

2 iced trente passion teas from Starbucks (unsweetened)

Lunch/Dinner:

6 oz. Veggie pasta

½ Tbsp. Herb butter

2 oz. Feta

Exercise:

50 minutes hot yoga

Snack:

3 no-bake cookies

Still snack overload. I am starting to get a little better, though. I have one cookie left that I'm saving for Kyle (as long as he continues to behave himself), and the fact that I haven't eaten it yet should speak volumes about my growing self-control.

I got up this morning and baked a cherry crumble for Mashanda's birthday with some of the fresh cherries I had in the fridge. She mentioned that she went to the gym on campus this morning and worked out for a little bit, since her birthday goal is to drop 20 lbs. I think I might follow in her footsteps. I have been a student at ASU for three years now (starting #4) and never once used their gym.

Think that's all for now. Have to get started on all this homework!   

Day three update!

I forgot to actually post this last night, so here's yesterday's update!

Breakfast:

Breakfast burrito -

3 eggs: 240 calories

1/8 c. cheese: 55 calories

1 tortilla: 150 calories

1 no-bake cookie

Exercise(ish):

20 minutes stretching

1 hr Ballerobica

Lunch:

gyro

greek salad

Dinner:

1 sandwich (mozz, tomato, salami, basil)

1 banana bar with whipped cream cheese frosting

1 peanut butter cookie

lots of strawberries and raspberries

peas and grape tomatoes

Lessons learned today: I have never seen a tortilla with as high a calorie count as the one from Target. I got a coupon in the mail to get some tortillas free which is why I have them, but I'm definitely never getting those again. (Market Pantry tortillas. Don't buy them.) Along that same vein, I need to start checking nutrition facts when I buy packaged foods like that. I never have with any regularity because I've never needed to. I need to get in the habit of doing so.

As I am starting this (at 8:30AM), I am also in the middle of some stretching. Admittedly it's not rigorous if I can be on the computer at the same time, but butterfly is quite conducive to typing, as are the splits with my computer out in front of me. I gained most of my weight in my belly, my hips, my butt, and my thighs. I'm hoping with some stretching to lengthen the muscles, I'll be able to achieve my first goal and fit in my clothes a little faster than I might be able to otherwise.

Ashley – your suggestion of going by the way my pants fit is an awesome one! I have a pair of skinny jeans that I purchased just a little too small, so they have never been quite as flattering as I've wanted them to be. That will be my new goal. I might step on a scale between now and then, but I certainly won't be buying one. I know that once those pants fit comfortably, I will have achieved my last goal. Then I won't be constantly worrying about the numbers on the scale! Thanks for that awesome tip.

Still no sign of the elusive tape measure. Perhaps next weekend I'll have a little more time to unpack and organize. I'm sure it's somewhere in one of the bags in the bedroom. It just might take a little more looking than I initially anticipated.

I also used a BMR calculator Saturday night. If I am 140 lbs. (which I seriously doubt), I need to consume about 1540 calories per day in order to lose 1 lb. per week. For 150 lb. me, I believe that number was 1610. I said I exercise moderately – 3 to 5 days per week, which is an underestimate, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

One of the ladies at the new church I went to last night made a TON of food – hence the all-over-the-place dinner. And I went out to lunch with my Couchsurfer. Pretty sure the entire day was a fail as far as calories go.

Starting to see the whole lack of self-control thing? Ugh.  

Day two!

Breakfast:

1 ½ servings raisin bran cereal

½ c. skim milk

Exercise:

50 minutes hot yoga

Breakfast, continued:

1 medium red grapefruit

Snack:

5 no-bake cookies

Dinner: 3 small stuffed tomatoes (meatless)

--

I didn't do a calorie count today because most of my meals/snacks were homemade and I don't have any clue what that calorie content would look like. 

Again, I'm a sucker for snacks. I made no-bake cookies because I was expecting my couchsurfer today, and then mowed down plenty. I didn't eat lunch, though, so I figure that makes up for part of it. I also put on some dance music while I was doing housework today, which burned a lot of extra calories, I'm sure. (The result of the dance music, obviously. :P )

I am taking another Ballerobica class in the morning, and that should use up the last of my Living Social classes deal. Bummer. I've looked into getting more in a package deal already, because those classes are awesome. (Studio BFF in Tempe. It's ballet aerobics. So much fun, and a crazy workout.) 

My hot yoga classes expire on the 9th, so I need to find something else to do after that, too. I joined a Meetup group today for women walkers in Ahwatukee, and signed up for their next jaunt - next Saturday morning at 5:45. Good thing I'm dedicated! 

I'm going to the store tomorrow to get a bunch of corn so I can have grilled corn and corn salad all week. Veggie overload, here I come!  

End of day one!

Still looking for that tape measure. Until then, here are my stats for the day.

Breakfast:

2 servings of steel cut oats = 320 calories

1Tbsp honey = 60 calories

½ c. blueberries

2 slices cinnamon toast

apple butter

Snack:

3 servings black pepper Triscuits (18 crackers) = 360 calories

1 serving (¼ c.) Skittles = 160 calories

1 strawberry yogurt granola bar = 409 calories

Lunch:

4 oz. Vegetable pasta = 380 calories

½ Tbsp garlic & herb butter = 45 calories

~1 oz. feta cheese = 70 calories

Snack:

~4 oz. Blueberries

I haven't eaten dinner yet, but it will be a small bowl of leftover chicken and rice.

Wow. Just looking at this, I obviously need to cut down on the snack calories. That's over 900 calories in snack food, which is way too much. With the numbers I have up there, that's 1800 calories plus the fruit, toast, apple butter, and dinner that I haven't eaten yet, which probably puts me close to a 2500 calorie day. Yikes.

I did an hour of Ballerobica earlier (a ballet aerobics class. Super fun), and the instructor said the class burns anywhere from 250 to 500 calories, but 350 calories is generally average. I also walked for about half an hour earlier. Total low ball, but I'm going to say that was another 50 calories burned because I like round numbers. That puts me at a net 2100 calorie day. I'm going to aim for another 100 calories burned before bed tonight.

I also drank pretty close to a half-gallon of water today. That's a lot less than I should be drinking, but still not bad. I also froze my water bottle overnight, so I had ice cold water for a few hours today, which I've been told burns a considerable number of calories.

Lessons learned today: I need to keep something sweet around that is healthy. I had a craving for something sweet earlier – hence the Skittles. They not only didn't hit the spot, but were a lot of wasted calories. I also need to not snack so much, or find healthier snacks. Rather than the Triscuits, I could have cut up one of the bell peppers I have in the fridge and brought that to school to munch on. That probably would have saved me close to 300 calories. Also, the granola bars from the Czech Republic need to go. I didn't look at the nutrition facts until this evening, making this list, and I'm appalled. None of the flavors I have are under 400 calories. Gross.

I finished off my blueberries today, so I'm all out of fruit. (I have lemons and bell peppers, but those aren't really “reach in and munch down” material.) I will definitely be doing some grocery shopping tomorrow, and will be doing so with this goal in mind. I'm going to try meal planning so I actually buy with purpose (and because corn is 6/$1 at Albertsons. I love corn, so I will probably get lots of it and then do grilled corn, corn salads, etc.) and because that might cut down on the “I don't know what I'm going to eat for dinner so I'll just stand here in front of the pantry hoping that something will jump out at me, and continue standing here until I decide on something that's not terribly healthy” phenomenon that seems to happen in this house.

Definitely glad I tracked my calories for the day. I was really surprised when I saw that number up there, and will be a lot more aware of what I consume from now on.  

Yay! Day one.

Ah, here we go again. Kicking off a new blog.

I had the idea for the name of this blog a few days ago, after walking into the ASU bookstore and seeing their ridiculous new slogan - “Fear the Fork” plastered across the front of a t-shirt in multiple colors. Immediately, the image of an obese woman sitting down at the dinner table popped into my head.

I originally dismissed the idea of starting a new blog. I already have two – one that I update almost daily, and the other that I update when I have something I need to get out, or need to ask a select group of friends for advice. So instead of starting this, I decided to change all my “workout” tags to “fear the fork” tags on my public blog.

Then this morning, I realized I wanted to do more with it. So here I am! Logging my breakfast for the first time. I know this is going to seem like a lot of food. I leave for school around 10AM and don't get out of class until 3. I only have one short break between classes, and I usually bring something like a granola bar and maybe some fruit – definitely not anything big enough to count as a real lunch. So I eat a larger breakfast to help tide me over. (That, and I got used to eating a LOT of food on vacation.)

Breakfast this morning:

2 servings of steel-cut oats with approx. 1Tbsp honey and probably ½c. blueberries

2 slices cinnamon toast with apple butter.

It's also 8:30 in the morning and I'm working on finishing off my first water bottle of the day.

I did not end up doing any organized exercise yesterday. I did a lot of walking across campus, then some stretching at home combined with a little house work. Today, I am signed up for a Ballerobica class. I am going to try to get some sort of additional exercise at home – either some yoga or going for a run in the little gym here.

As soon as I can find my measuring tape, I will be posting measurements here to accompany my daily food and exercise logs. I don't have a scale (the battery corroded in the flood back in April) and I think I'm pretty glad. I might cry if I stepped on a scale right now.

My first goal is to fit back in my clothes.

My second goal is to be 125 lbs.

My ultimate goal is to be under 120, and to be able to run a mile without stopping. (For an asthmatic, that's a difficult task!)

I also want to complete a half-marathon some time in the next two years so if this goes well and I decide to continue it, I may switch the focus in the future to training. I think it goes without saying that I'm nowhere near ready to start training now.

A little background on me: I am recovered from a compulsive exercise / eating disorder but have a very unhealthy relationship with my body (and with food), and very low self-esteem. Because of my past, I gain weight very easily. I went from sub-120 in February to 130 in May, probably up to 135 in June (I haven't logged anything since June 2^nd), and then just got back from a month-long vacation to Europe (Italy, Austria, Czech Republic, and Poland) where I would guess I gained about 10 lbs. Most of my pants I can't pull over my butt (thankfully that's all muscle from doing so much walking!) but the ones I can pull on don't fit. Some barely button. Some button but are extremely unflattering. You get the picture. I am no longer the size two I was before vacation, and that needs to change! You can probably imagine how humiliating it is to get home from a month's vacation and only be able to wear skirts and dresses. I have one pair of shorts I have been able to wear – the ones I took on my trip with me. I'm pretty disappointed in myself.

So there you have it! A little bit about me, why I'm trying to lose weight, some of my goals, and how I plan to accomplish them! Welcome on board! I look forward to having people hold me accountable. :)